Escribano came at Lt. Brown with a 10-1/4 inch hunting knife, and after repeated warnings, Brown shot him.

The incident was investigated by the State Police Eastern District Major Crime Squad over the past four months, and State's Attorney David Shepack found that Lt. Brown's use of deadly physical force was appropriate under the law.

The Register Citizen reported on this incident when it happened July 12. At the time of the incident, many details were unknown or unavailable and many of our readers left comments expressing their outrage over Lt. Brown's actions. The report from the State's Attorney provides details that show Escribano was not a meek 78-year-old man.

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Lt. Brown saw Escribano on the Exit 43 entrance ramp, walking along the shoulder of the highway, he said in a statement given to investigators. He states that he tried to get Escribano's attention by pulling to the shoulder and honking his horn. Escribano ignored this, the statement said, so Lt. Brown got out of his vehicle and walked toward Escribano, calling out to him.

When Lt. Brown was within 14 feet of Escribano, according to the lieutenant's statement, Escribano turned around, crouched down and pulled out the hunting knife from his waistband and began flipping it around in "an extremely proficient manner."

Lt. Brown ordered Escribano to drop the knife, the statement said, but Escribano started to walk toward Lt. Brown, thrusting the knife at him. Lt. Brown retreated to his cruiser, the statement said, but Escribano kept advancing. Lt. Brown backed the cruiser about 75 to 100 feet away from Escribano and advised dispatch of the situation.

Lt. Brown's statement says he retreated from Escribano a total of four times. Each retreat involved Lt. Brown moving his cruiser farther away from Escribano, while also stopping traffic on the highway in case Escribano went into traffic.

During this entire exchange, Lt. Brown continually ordered Escribano to drop his weapon, the statement said. Lt. Brown says that when he had no further area in which to retreat, he continued to order Escribano to drop the knife.

Lt. Brown shot Escribano when the distance between them was the length of his cruiser, the statement said.

The State Police Major Crime Squad took statements from a total of eight witnesses, all of which corroborated Lt. Brown's account of events.

Escribano's family members gave statements to the crime squad as well.

Socorro Rickevicius, Escribano's sister, stated that her brother had pulled a knife on her that morning. She took it away from him, and he then left the house, stating that he was going to "make the cops shoot him."

Rickevicius spoke with the police on July 18, adding to her statement and saying that her brother had lived with her for 13 or 14 years and was very simple-minded. However, she stated that he was not a violent person but that Escribano would have stabbed Lt. Brown if he had gotten close enough.

Escribano's nephew, Eddie Rickevicius, a retired Watertown police officer, gave a statement that included background information. Rickevicius stated that his uncle's mental state had been declining over the past three to five years and that he was not capable of being alone in public.

The Connecticut State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Squad (CARS) gathered evidence from the scene. It also created a sketch map of the scene showing the various retreat locations identified by Lt. Brown. The CARS unit determined that Lt. Brown retreated a total of 254 feet, 11 inches from Escribano before shooting him.

The Chief Medical Examiner performed an autopsy on Escribano and found that he had Alzheimer's Disease and cerebral arteriosclerosis, but there were no drugs or alcohol in his system.

After reviewing all of the collected evidence, including the autopsy reports, witness statements, and Lt. Brown's statements, the Connecticut State's Attorney determined that Lt. Brown "reasonalbly and justifiably believed that he and stopped motorists on Route 8 were in imminent danger of being subjected to deadly physical force and that Lt. Brown was justified in his use of deadly physical force... ," the report concluded.